Does anyone with conversion problems have had success ONLY on Levo treatment?

[Alejandrita17]

I'm doubtfull about adding T3 to my treatment, as I feel more "secure" on monotherapy. But it seems I am a poor convertor.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Alejandrita17

Looking at your post of a couple of days ago you shouldn't be contemplating the addition of T3 at the moment. Your Ferritin is dire at 14 and I explained before that it needs to be up around 90. Once you get a decent Ferritin level and your Vit, B12 and Ferritin are all optimal too then you may find that you convert well enough.

[Alejandrita17 in reply to SeasideSusie]

My question arises because I seem to have dropped T3 levels after I started with Levo. Before that, my t3 levels were 2,8. Now, with medication, they dropped to 2,58.

[Lalatoot]

Totally agree with SeasideSusie . There is nothing to suggest a conversion problem yet...you need to wait until your vitamins are optimal.

[greygoose]

I seem to have dropped T3 levels after I started with Levo. Before that, my t3 levels were 2,8. Now, with medication, they dropped to 2,58.

What often happens is that a failing thyroid will make more T3 than T4, in an attempt to keep you alive - less energy required and less 'raw goods'. When you start taking levo, it will bring the TSH down so that there will not be enough to stimulate your failing gland to make the same amount of hormone it was making before, so the level of FT3 will obviously drop. It will take time for conversion of T4 to take up the slack. You also need to be on enough levo, of course.

[Alejandrita17 in reply to greygoose]

So It doesn't neccesarily mean I am a poor convertor? (low ferritin aside).

[greygoose in reply to Alejandrita17]

It doesn't mean anything at all at this point. Besides, the drop is so small it's negligeable. What is the range? How long have you been taking levo?

[Alejandrita17 in reply to greygoose]

This is my story. The first line is for values BEFORE My Thyroiditis, when I had no thyroid problems and felt wonderful. The second line is a month afterwards, once the mumps virus attacked My Thyroid and destroyed its follicules. Stored T4 and t3 entered the bloodstrem and I became hyperthyroid. After that, I spent 3 years with no meds, until the date shown in the blue arrow. Antibodies have been always negative. What do You think?

Colour

[greygoose in reply to Alejandrita17]

OK, so putting the ranges changes the picture completely. Always put ranges when giving results because they vary from lab to lab.

So, yes, your FT4 is 55% through the range but your FT3 is only 22.27% through. So, that is poor conversion. BUT, your conversion was just as poor before you started levo, with an FT4 at 50% and an FT3 at only 37.73%. It's got worse, admittedly, but then again, you're still under-medicated. It could improve if you get your FT4 up to about 75-80%.

[Alejandrita17 in reply to greygoose]

Last values are Ft4 75% through range (1,45) and Ft3 just 26% (2,58). I'm screwed

[greygoose in reply to Alejandrita17]

Well, you could buy your own T3, no?

[Thyroidgirl1236]

T3 is a game changer! I feel amazing on it although I have heard that everyone is different.

[Alejandrita17 in reply to Thyroidgirl1236]

It's a pity I don't have my T3 values BEFORE my Thyroiditis happened (to see the "normal" t3 had back then). My Guess is that I have always been a poor convertor, but my thyroid conpensated the missing T3. Now that it's ill, I lost thyroid T3 contribution and my peripheral tissues cannot produce more than that.

Maybe the solution is nore t4 to the risk of TSH being suppresed, as you say?

[Hidden]

What do you mean by "more secure"? Many doctors and books and articles on thyroid disease will tell you that levo only is safer as it will provide the body with a steady supply of storage hormone to be converted as needed. That sounds good, but that only works as long as your body actually converts enough T4 to T3. If that does not happen, you will be hypo. A healthy thyroid produces T3 as well.

[Alejandrita17 in reply to Hidden]

My main concerns are long term effects of T3 treatment, since I read everywhere that "consequences are unknow at the moment"

[tattybogle in reply to Alejandrita17]

T3 (liothyronine) in a pill is a copy of T3 (triiodothyronnine) from the thyroid .. so there's no more reason for it to have any kind of 'long term consequence' than using T4 ( Levothyroxine ) does ,since T4 in a pill is a copy of T4 (tetraiodothyronnine) from the thyroid ......., assuming the dosage is correct for the needs and not too high of course , but the same proviso holds true for T4 use ...

They just write "long term consequences are unknown" everywhere because there haven't been any proper studies done , but they didn't do any proper studies on Levo either , just wheeled it in.

There are also some ? potential concerns about over rage T4, since natural T4 has been associated in some way with cancer 'proliferation' in cells, whatever than means.. but the long term effects of that are not known either.... and every one of us on levo only is part of a long term 'experiment' that's been running since levo became the dominant treatment ..... which is "what are the long term consequences of running the body with relatively higher T4 , relatively lower T3 and relatively lower TSH than we had in health "

[Hidden in reply to Alejandrita17]

Well, since NDT has been around for some 130 years, I think that, if the long-term consequences of T3 supplementation are not known by now, they never will be...